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Justice News

Department of Justice

Office of Public Affairs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Detroit Man Sentenced for Mailing Noose to Threaten Couple

WASHINGTON – Glenn E. Morgan Jr., 41, of Detroit, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Robert H. Cleland to three months in prison followed by two years supervised release after pleading guilty to sending a threatening communication through the mail to a Detroit couple, the Justice Department announced today.

In November 2008, Morgan mailed a noose, photographs of black men being lynched and a photograph of the murdered body of Nicole Brown Simpson to the couple because of their race. The envelope Morgan sent to the couple also contained threatening written messages indicating that black men who marry white women should be lynched and that white women who marry black men will share Nicole Brown Simpson's fate.

U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Barbara L. McQuade said, "The law protects people from threats and harassment based on their race, and we will prosecute anyone who seeks to racially intimidate members of our community."

“Threats based on race have no place in our country,” Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “The department will aggressively prosecute those who threaten any person based on the color of their skin.”

Andrew Arena, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Detroit said, "This sentencing should send as a strong message that hate crimes will be investigated vigorously and those responsible for these heinous acts will be brought to justice."

The case was investigated by the FBI. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Pamela Thompson from the U.S. Attorney's Office the Eastern District of Michigan, and Trial Attorney Sanjay Patel from the Civil Rights Division.